


Social SecUnity

by tigerbright



Category: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
Genre: Artificial Intelligence, Canon Asexual Character, Canon Compliant, Communication, Developing Friendships, Epistolary, Other, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28249701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerbright/pseuds/tigerbright
Summary: New planets can be safe. And interesting. Without being dangerous. Now Murderbot can relax. Maybe.
Relationships: Amena & Murderbot (Murderbot Diaries), Amena & Perihelion | Asshole Research Transport (Murderbot Diaries), Asshole Research Transport & Murderbot (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Mensah & Murderbot (Murderbot Diaries)
Comments: 35
Kudos: 109
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Social SecUnity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [enchantedsleeper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/enchantedsleeper/gifts).



Dear Firstmom,

I know, I know, you prefer long letters to short ones, but this is going to be a short one anyway, because I have to save my writing energy for my Pansystem University application!

You asked me how SecUnit is doing. Well, SecUnit and Perihelion are ignoring each other again. I know you’ll say that they’re probably talking over the feed, but Iris thinks they’re ignoring each other too. It makes things kind of uncomfortable. It’s weird to see SecUnit watching media in its head again, rather than on the display surface with Peri. (I can’t call it ART – like Iris, I think it’s a hilarious nickname, but it’s just for SecUnit. And as far as I can tell, Peri’s name for SecUnit is just “you” as in “I need your help” or “you’re sulking again” or “why can’t you tell me what’s going on?”)

Okay, maybe it’s just SecUnit who’s ignoring Peri. Again.

You also asked me about the latest planet that we went to… I don’t know if I can describe it without including videos, so I’ll have to ask SecUnit to share them.

Oh, and, yes, you were right about Iris being a potential friend, and not just another age–mate in the crew. But she can’t ever seem to sit still! I think that SecUnit spoiled me.

Love,  
Amena

=======

Dear Dr. Mensah, 

As requested, I am saving up all my observations into a letter rather than sending them to you one by one. You are correct – when I look at them all together, I do see that I can cluster them into themes. And yes, it does make it easier to understand myself and my reactions.

We did go to a nice planet this last time. Nothing even tried to kill us. Amena asked me for my raw recordings and promised to share the compiled version with me. I hope she plans to share it on the Preservation feed. She’s got a good eye for these things. 

Amena says that she is particularly glad we were safe because I need to believe that new planets are safe. And interesting. Without being dangerous. (ART agrees. It is much more annoying from ART.)

Relatedly, it turns out that Karime’s specialty is trauma counseling, and she persuaded me to take part in sessions with her. It might be helping. I am doing this because I hope that you are still attending your trauma counseling sessions as well. But I have to admit that it is helping me. And if Karime is helping me then I assume that you are getting better too.

Karime says that I am still far too paranoid about my friends, though. For example, I know that Amena and Iris are talking about me. And ART. ~~(Except there is no Me+ART. I know that Amena and Iris and the whole Perihelion crew and even Ratthi and… anyway, I don’t know why I even started on this. Delete line.)~~ ART even gave them an encryption for their private feed that’s *just* outside of what I know how to solve. So far, anyway. You’re probably going to agree with Karime and tell me not to try to break the encryption. But I just can’t stand knowing that people are talking about me without my knowledge. 

(And paranoia is programmed into my non–human parts. I’m working on decrypting that too.)

You would tell me, honestly, if Amena writes to you about me, right? Especially if she lumps me together with ART? ~~(There is no Me+ART. Honestly ART never even calls me by name, he just says “You” and expects me to know who I mean. Except I do. Ugh. Delete line.)~~

Yours,  
~~Murderbot~~

======

Dear SecUnit,

It was very lovely to receive your note. I miss you and am relieved that you reached out. You’ve told me the most important thing (to you) about the planet, which is that it’s safe. But what else is it like?

Of course you shouldn’t break a private encryption protocol between friends. It’s entirely possible that Amena thinks you’re a little overprotective and wants a chance to get to know Iris on her own. My guess is that they’re avoiding trying to talk about you – or Perihelion – as much as possible, since they need to find other things in common. They’ve been thrown together because of the large things they have in common – being the younger generation, being explorers, being idealists – but I’m sure you’ve found that the big things are only the beginning.

I suppose that you and Perihelion have been thrown together too, both being people who fit in with humans in very different ways than humans interact with one another. But I do want you to remember that you have more in common with Perihelion than Three, and that Three has more in common with Ratthi than with you. 

It’s very interesting to watch Three developing into a person who is so different from you, confirming all of my beliefs. They actively seek physical contact and particularly enjoy being climbed upon by the younger children. Since their reflexes are as good as yours, they keep the children out of the infirmary more than 95% of the time. (It’s that low because I’ve had to ask them to let the children lightly–injure themselves – after all, learning from small mistakes prevents large ones in the future.) I suppose that is one thing you two SecUnits have in common – it’s very hard for you to be other than indispensable. Three will just have to learn right along with the children. They’re taking courses in child development and socialization. (I expect that when they get to the History of Failed Pedagogies course, they’ll be horrified by how similar some of those are to SecUnit indoctrination.)

And you are learning along with Perihelion – it could definitely teach you a thing or two about letting your crew go off by themselves and come home safely again. Especially now that you’ve seen it happen. I hope that this relieves the tension in your friendship, too.

And, as you tried not to ask, I am, of course, still in my trauma therapy, working on feeling less, well, traumatized. I don’t jump when new people come around corners, at least. I certainly understand your aversion to having things shoved at your face, or being touched unexpectedly.

We will both get through this, together and separately.

Yours,  
Ayda Mensah

======

Dear Amena,

I absolutely love the presentation you created from SecUnit’s raw video. With your permission, I’d like to upload it to the Preservation feed. I’ll send you my detailed comments separately.

Are SecUnit and Perihelion talking again? 

Your siblings and cousins have adopted Three as their personal nanny. Three is somewhat confused by this but they accepted training in how to let the children care more for themselves, being a backstop rather than a rescue helicopter. The course on collaborative problem solving was the biggest challenge; Three was bewildered by the idea that they and the children could take both individual and cooperative initiative. After watching the video, I asked Three if I could send it to SecUnit. They were surprised when I accepted no for an answer. You can draw your own conclusions.

You haven’t asked, but you have a right to know; my trauma counseling is continuing. The biggest relief, honestly, is that the therapist backs me up when I say that I don’t want to talk about it. Of course, I am encouraged to talk about it in order to bring the two parts of my life back together. But I am allowed to take the time I need, and not be pushed to be all better right away.

Love,  
Mom

======

Dear SecUnit,

That is a terrible name and I do not know why you will not just let me call you Murderbot. It is, after all, your name. It is what makes you unique. Just as "Perihelion, registered to the Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland" is my name and makes me unique. And I also have a unique nickname, which I am fairly certain that no other research vessel bears, that you gave to me. (I have done an exhaustive search of past and present research vessel registries.)

I digress, however. Amena mentioned that you have both been writing long–form letters to her mother in an effort to better organize your thoughts. My thoughts are always organized, but I admit that it is easier to focus my attention on a person I appreciate when I am restraining myself to one subject at a time. Also you do not answer my questions over the feed.

I apologize. I admit that I do not know what I have done this time. However, I am certain that I can fix it, log it to avoid doing it again, and we can go back to watching serials together. There is a new one called Factory City Epsilon which looks extremely unrealistic. 

Yours,  
ART

======

Dear ART,

I thank you for not reading my letters. At least, I presume you are being honest about that.

I have a hard time answering your questions over the feed because they cause Feelings. Ugh. And feelings are distracting from whatever else I may be doing at the time. 

Karime says that there is such a thing as boundaries, and that you and I need some productive ones so I can stop ignoring you. She flagged particular episodes of Sanctuary Moon and Worldhoppers that she says present boundaries between friends in both positive and negative ways. She wants us to report back with analysis.

At least we’re good at analysis.

I will respond to your feed comments in regard to keeping the crew, including Amena, safe, immediately. As I have been. I will log your feed comments for later response if they spark Feelings. I guess I will… tell you so. So you don’t feel ignored.

Let’s schedule media consumption one hour into night watch?

Yours,  
(ugh, okay) Murderbot

======

Dear Murderbot,

I agree to your terms. It’s a date.

Yours,  
ART

**Author's Note:**

> Murderbot: A WHAT?! (Okay. Deep breaths.)
> 
> ======
> 
> Thank you to my lovely beta, Beatrice-Otter!
> 
> Thank you to my husband Teddywolf, who gave me the new serial title, and the hilarious work title (mine was "Renewed Beginnings"). And for listening to all the Murderbot audiobooks with me in place of watching TV. (Kevin R. Free did a great job and I highly recommend even if the male voice did make it harder to remember Murderbot’s pronouns.)
> 
> The History of Failed Pedagogies course includes Applied Behavioral Analysis.


End file.
